Auxiliary Nurses Take Over Registered Nurses Roles In Private Hospitals
* Some of them are secondary school dropouts who are trained to give injections within 3 months by doctors in private settings, some even assist in surgeries
Nigerians who patronise some private hospitals in the country are at the mercy of auxiliary nurses, who now form the bulk of the personnel attending to patients at the medical facilities, SUNDAY PUNCH investigations have revealed.
Checks by our correspondents in some private hospitals in Lagos, Oyo, Osun, Delta and Ondo states also revealed that only one trained or qualified nurse could be found out of every five medical personnel, who attend to patients there.
A medical doctor, who spoke with one of our correspondents at a private hospital in Ojodu, Lagos, attributed the cause to the high remuneration being demanded by government trained nurses.
The doctor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, explained that most trained nurses usually abandoned private hospitals after a few months of engagement in search of greener pastures either in the government-owned hospitals or outside the country.
The source, who is the deputy medical director of the health facility, confirmed that auxiliary nurses were allowed to carry out functions like drug administration and injection of patients after about three or four years of training on the job.
But an official of the Lagos State branch of the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, a government-regulatory body, told one of our correspondents, on condition of anonymity, that anybody that must practise either as a nurse or midwife must undergo academic training in the school of nursing or in the university.
He said, “Anybody that studies nursing abroad must also sit for an examination in Nigeria before he or she would have the right to touch any patient in the hospital ward.
“No individual, no matter his experience in terms of academics and practice, can successfully train a nurse in all the various disciplines and facilities which he or she should be exposed to.”
He said many of the private hospitals in this country did not have the required facilities to train a nurse.
The NMCN official, however, disclosed that the agency had been taking legal actions against those whose patients had died as a result of the actions of auxiliary nurses.
In one of the hospitals visited in the Apata area of Ibadan, Oyo State, one of our correspondents observed that two young girls, who just left secondary school, were among the nurses who were attending to patients.
One of them said she dispensed drugs to patients at the hospital’s pharmacy section and that she also administered injection on them.
She said, “I joined this hospital in 2016 and within three months, I started administering injection on patients. I was trained by a ‘staff’ nurse who assisted the doctor before she left in November 2017.
“I dress wound for those who are injured and I can read the doctor’s prescription and dispense the drugs.”
The patients at the hospital are oblivious of her qualification and that of her colleague. One of them even confirmed that one of the auxiliary nurses was among those who took delivery of her last child at the hospital.
The patient, Mrs. Anjorin Bolanle, said, “I don’t know her qualification but she has been here for two or three years. She is young and pleasant and she was in the delivery room about a year ago when I was delivered of my baby.”
In another hospital visited at the Odo-Ona area of the city, it was observed that the nurses were trained in the hospital.
Further investigations also revealed that they were paid salaries ranging from N10,000 to N15,000 per month, depending on their years of experience.
The feeling among patients is almost unanimous because they don’t know the difference between a trained nurse and an untrained one.
Mr. Adebayo Amoo, who took one of his children to the hospital for treatment, urged the government to play its role by visiting hospitals to ascertain those who are violating the medical rule.
Also in Akure, Ondo State, it was observed that private hospitals employ more auxiliary nurses than trained nurses because the proprietors offer poor remuneration.
Auxiliary nurses at a private hospital along the Oyemekun Road, Akure, were seen attending to patients and administering injections based on doctors’ prescriptions when one of our correspondents visited the facility on Friday.
A patient, who identified himself as Adolphus Ibe, said the auxiliary nurses had been attending to him since he was admitted, adding that the doctor usually visited the hospital once a day except there was an emergency.
Another patient, Mrs. Beatrice Madu, who was just delivered of a baby girl through Caesarian Section at a private hospital in Akure, said, “Two auxiliary nurses were with the doctor during the operation.
“With their experiences so far, they can operate on a patient and this is a very dangerous development.”
SUNDAY PUNCH also gathered that in Osogbo, Osun State, auxiliary nurses attended to patients and administered injections in some cases.
A resident of Osogbo, Wasiu Nurudeen, in an interview with one of our correspondents, explained how he stopped an auxiliary nurse from attending to his sick wife.
He said, “I took my wife to a private hospital owned by a doctor who works with the state government and I saw a lady in a nurse uniform. Upon interrogation, I discovered that she was not a trained medical officer.”
Another resident of Osogbo, Oluwole Adewale, said he was treated by auxiliary nurses at a private hospital when he was involved in a road accident last year.
In Delta State, patients who patronise private hospitals and health care centres expressed worry that auxiliary nurses were gradually taking over the jobs of trained nurses.
“It’s surprising to note that most auxiliary nurses disguise as nurses. An auxiliary nurse treated me when I had an accident last year,” Akpokona Oghogho told one of our correspondents in Ughelli.
Source : Punch Newspaper
